Chapter 326

Nina

The bathroom door swung closed behind me with a resounding thud, its finality echoing through the tight space. I looked at Lori and Jessica, who stared back at me with an intense scrutiny in their eyes.

“Alright, alright, go ahead,” I groaned, leaning against the bathroom sink and folding my arms across my chest. “Go on and scold me for the millionth time tonight.”

Lori and Jessica paused to shoot each other a glance before Jessica sighed and placed her hand on my arm.

“Nina, we’re just worried about you. That’s all,” she said gently.

I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason I felt a bit defensive. Maybe a little more harshly than I intended, I pulled my arm away and turned to face the mirror. “I’m fine,” I declared, meeting their gazes in the reflection. “You two are getting too worried about this.”

Clearly annoyed by my defensiveness, Lori stepped up behind me and grabbed my shoulder, forcing me to turn around to face her. Even at her petite height, she had a commanding air about her. It had always been one of her more prominent traits.

“Nina Harper—or should I say, Nina Rivers—you’re acting like an idiot. Do you want to start off your marriage with a nice little handful of lies, or do you want to be truthful with your husband?”

Before I could answer, Jessica chimed in, folding her thin arms across her chest. “Seriously, Nina. You and Enzo have been through so much together. And let’s not forget that you have a history of keeping things from him—”

“I’m not keeping anything from him!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air in an exasperated manner. “I don’t even know if I’m pregnant or not. At least give me time to figure it out on my own before you start accusing me of lying to my husband.”

A tense silence fell over the room. Lori and Jessica’s unwavering gazes never left my face, eventually causing my resolve to crumble ever so slightly.

I sighed, feeling my shoulders slump a little as my hands began nervously picking at a stray thread on my jeans. “Look. It’s complicated, okay? There’s more to it than you think.”

“Well, either way, you should be open with Enzo,” Lori insisted, her eyes not leaving mine. “He’s your husband, Nina. Secrets don’t make for a good marriage.”

The weight of their words sank in, but also tightened the knot in my stomach. “I can’t,” I finally admitted, the words barely more than a whisper. “At least, not yet. If it turns out I am... well, pregnant, Enzo won’t want to leave. He’ll give up his dreams for me. And I can’t be the reason he doesn’t go after what he wants. Not after everything he’s been through.”

“So what’s your plan then?” Jessica prodded, her voice filled with a combination of annoyance and disbelief. “To keep it a secret and deal with it on your own?”

I looked down at the cold tile floor, contemplating my options. I had dreams too; medical school was just around the corner. Could I manage all that with a baby?

“Maybe,” I mumbled, almost too low to hear. “I’ve thought about...well, not keeping it. Having an abortion.”

The silence that followed was heavy, almost suffocating. I could feel both of their stares, now filled with a mixture of confusion and concern.

“And would you keep that a secret too?” Lori finally broke the silence, her tone softer now.

“From Enzo? Maybe,” I said, looking up to meet their eyes. “We can always have a family later, right? He goes off to pursue his dream, I go to medical school, and then we can think about a family once we’re really ready.”

“But would that really be what you want?” Jessica asked, her tone cautious. “A secret abortion? It’s a huge decision, Nina. One that you’d have to live with forever.”

“Look,” I snapped, feeling cornered. “I don’t even know for sure if I’m pregnant yet. So there’s no point in having this conversation now.”

Lori sighed, taking a step closer to me. “Fair enough, Nina. But if you are, you’re not alone. You don’t have to go through this by yourself. Remember that.”

“Yeah,” Jessica added. “We’re always here for you, no matter what you decide.”

The intensity of the moment started to thin out, replaced by an uneasy peace. They were right. Whether or not to bring a new life into this world was a monumental decision, one that could impact not just me, but also the man I loved.

“Come on, let’s head back,” Lori said after a moment, gesturing to the door. “Before they start to think we’ve ditched them.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, still feeling somewhat lost in all of this but grateful for the reminder that I wasn’t alone in my struggle.

As we made our way back to the group, though, my friends’ words kept reverberating in my mind. What was I willing to sacrifice, and at what cost?

Enzo waved at me from across the crowded bar, a warm, inviting smile on his face. As I weaved my way through the throng of people, the noise level seemed to dip for a moment, long enough for me to take a deep breath before reaching him. When I did, he wrapped his arm around me and planted a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“Everything alright?” he asked, his soft brown eyes searching mine. “Jess looked really serious when she pulled you away. Is something up?”

I hesitated, feeling my wolf stir within me. This could be the moment, the perfect opportunity to lay everything on the table. But at the last second, the words caught in my throat as though something was keeping them from coming out.

“It’s just… girl stuff,” I said finally, offering him a reassuring smile. “Nothing to worry about.”

He chuckled, the sound comforting when I really needed it. “Since when do you talk about ‘girl stuff’ with your friends?”

He was teasing, of course. My relationship with Lori and Jessica had been more about how to handle supernatural crises than menstrual cycles or makeup tips in recent history. But tonight was different. Tonight, the complexities of being a woman seemed to outweigh even the life-and-death situations we once found ourselves in.

“Us girls are full of surprises,” I retorted playfully. We both knew the ‘girl stuff’ excuse was flimsy, but it would hold—for now, at least.

Changing the subject, I asked, “How are you feeling, now that the game is over? Sad?”

He paused, his eyes turning reflective. “Yeah, I’m sad. But I’m also excited, you know? It’s like the end of one chapter and the start of another. New beginnings.”

The words ‘new beginnings’ echoed in my ears, and my hand almost instinctively gravitated toward my belly. But I caught myself just in time, instead letting my hands float up to cup his face.

“I’m so proud of you,” I said, my eyes meeting his. “Taking this leap, going after your dreams—I know everything will work out perfectly.”

For a moment, his eyes seemed to search mine, as if looking for something more, some hidden layer of meaning in my words. But then he smiled, that wonderful, heart-stopping smile that I’d fallen in love with.

“You think so?” he murmured.

I smirked, letting my thumb brush across his stubbly cheek. “I know so.”

His grin widened, and he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “In that case, I want to take you home. Now.”